Chapter 19: Irony

Percy

There was a fifty meter wide cove on the furthest end of Camp Half-Blood.

A lone cliff sat on the rim of a crescent-shaped lake. Up above, a slow stream fell from the tall mountain and creating something out of a dream. The surreal sight of a reflective waterfall accompanied by lustrous green forest surrounding the scenery, not even a soul in sight to disturb this peaceful landscape.

For many people, finding this place would be a dream come true, and for Percy, it surely felt that way when he first stumbled into this area known as the Lake of Lun-Nox. It was during the first night he spent at Camp Half-Blood, and as such, he was guided by Chiron to this quiet place, somewhere he could train to his heart's content for his upcoming role in the battle against Amk.

And yet…

"….hmm," The same boy who was supposed to be honing his elemental control was relaxing on the shoreline, picking up flat-shaped pebbles and skipping them over the calm lake, causing endless ripples and ruining the perfect reflection of the white moon and starry night sky.

"Ahem…"

At once, he turned with a rock ready in his fist.

"Whoa, no need to get so worked up, Percy." Piper waved her right hand to say hi.

Percy sighed and realized what an absurd weapon he was holding. He quickly let go of the pebble without letting the daughter of Aphrodite notice.

"So, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with Annabeth?"

Piper took a seat next to him after pulling in her long skirt and sat with her legs out, "I am on break, and Annabeth wanted someone to check on you."

"Oh," Percy paused, "I guess she's really busy huh?"

"She's got a lot on her plate with that new gear, but we are all working and practicing with them." Piper mused, "So, are you getting used to it?"

Percy sank back down on the tough but tiny pebbles covering the shore. It had just the right amount of uncomfortableness that made him shift around, like thorns poking at his butt.

Glancing at Piper in her long dark blue dress and a big hoodie to keep her warm, he doubted she felt any better, yet she could sit still unlike him.

"I don't really know… It was a little weird at first, but after working with it for the last two days, I guess I don't feel as weird about it as I did before."

"Hmm… Same, I think it will take everyone a bit more time though."

"Yeah," Percy nodded and returned his gaze toward the lake, the rounded cove surrounding it, and the limitless ocean beyond. He sighed.

"I am guessing that's not a good sign?"

Percy shook his head and smiled with sarcasm, "Well, considering what I am up against, I probably say that I am screwed either way."

"Don't say that. You don't know what you are capable of."

Percy stretched his head and looked at the skies above, "I wished it was easier, but to do that, it's not going to be a piece of cake, you know?"

"How far have you gotten?"

He pushed his head back down and pointed at the entrance to the cove. From the wayside, there were clear marks of destruction, the formation of what was once steep rocks with sharp edges was trimmed down, almost as if waves of unnatural occurrence had been smacking into them repeatedly.

Of course, Piper took a glance at it and her lips mused, "Oh? That's what you— Hmm… yeah, you are right, we are royally fucked."

Thanks for the vote of confidence, you jerk…

Although Percy knew that depressing fact too, something else left between his lips instead, "Thanks for summing that up, Pipes. I wouldn't have known that until you said it."

"Hehe… You're welcome, Percy."

Smirking back, a round of silence went over them as they sat next to each other and looked at the night and the lake which had settled into a calm reflection once again.

"So, how are you getting used to it too?"

Piper pulled her head back, "I am pretty okay, though I can't say that same thing about Jason. He's not getting used to it at all and keeps complaining."

"Hmm," That was a surprise since Jason's reflex was shaper than both him and Annabeth combined.

"Thalia is fine though. Out of everyone, she was the first one to get it down perfect, and she's been helping him get used to the prediction algorithm nonstop since yesterday."

"Hmm… I wouldn't want to imagine how the others are going through if Jason is having trouble."

Piper sighed and brought her knees to her chest, inadvertently pulling her long skirt up her legs, "I guess that's true, but everyone willing to fight at least has the basics down. I think they just need more time to get used to the new program. I mean, not even you or me had any idea that Annabeth could make something like this, right?"

"So imagine how the others are feeling when they are not used to tech like this, is that what you are saying?"

Piper nodded, "To be honest, I want to ask Annabeth if we should push our attack plan back just a few more days. Plus, it'll give you time to master your elemental control too."

Percy wanted to nod, but the words leaving his lips were the opposite of what he wanted, "I know that, Pipes." His moving lips stopped. When the right words came to him, he moved them again, "But I feel like Annabeth is not her usual self lately."

Piper slumped her chin into the curve of her knees pressed together, "You mean she's worried about her mother?"

Percy nodded, "I mean, the more time we spend here, the more time Athena is with the enemy. I don't want her to worry so much that it will affect her, you know?"

For a second, Percy thought he saw a smile on her lips hidden beneath her skirt.

"You are always ready to take care of her, Percy." Piper said with a hint of a teasing look, "Honestly, I am feeling kind of jealous how much you can love her."

Under normal circumstances, Percy would have babbled away until that embarrassment faded. However, he didn't shy away this time, and perhaps, just maybe, he missed his wise girl more than he expected after not seeing her for three whole days.

Yes, he spent three whole days and nights training in this cove with barely any sleep whatsoever.

The result?

All he had to show for were a few crumbling rock formations at the edge of the cove, something so pathetic he couldn't help but feel at a loss. Compared to what Annabeth had done since she took him to Camp Half-Blood, he'd only-

"What? Cat caught your tongue?" Piper teased him with an index finger poking at his face.

Percy blinked away.

"What can I do? She'd invaded just about every single part of me. I can't help but fall in love with her at this point, and it's not like I can run away even if I wanted to."

"I'll tell Annabeth you said that."

"Wait, what?! No, please don't… I was just joking!"

Lively giggles left Piper and Percy could only sigh despondently.

"Okay fine! I love her a lot, and I also want to take care of her all the time." He blushed, "But it's not just that, I… I want to protect her from everything too."

"Hmm?" Her humming expression was biting away at his heels and Percy didn't like that feeling of being opened up and dissected like a frog, something gave away soon enough and lead to a full confession.

"I- I want to keep her safe, I want to wrap her in my arms and protect her from anything that might hurt her, I want to make sure she's happy and know I won't leave her side, no matter what."

The teasing look from the girl beside him shifted into a moment of shock.

"Ah, I am sorry… I don't know what came over me. It's weird for me to say it out loud, especially to you isn't it?" Percy hid from the girl who was probably reading all his unconscious emotions with her innate ability as Aphrodite's daughter.

"You are lucky…"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Piper sucked in a long breath, turning to the lake, then mumbled with a half-suppress voice, "It's a blessing that you want to protect someone that special to you, and Annabeth is lucky too. She's feeling the same way."

Percy tilted his head to look away.

"You won't find that many people who are as lucky as you two are." Piper gleamed at the lake, yet those eyes were filled with sadness. For the first time, Percy recognized something resembling loneliness and longing in those light brown eyes.

Could it be?

"It might not look like it, Pipes, but me and Annabeth are always butt-heading and trust me, I've got a lot to complain about her always riling me up and hitting me out of nowhere and…"

"… that's what love is, Perseus Jackson."

Piper cut him off completely, and despite his original intention to cheer her up, she managed to turn the table and left him speechless.

"You probably realize me and Jason had a thing, something that we'd never told you guys, right?" Piper didn't turn to look at him, but Percy nodded anyway, "Well, it's not that complicated."

She composed herself and sighed.

"You see, I have always been alone since I've awakened, but I survived somehow. There were so many close calls every day that it just felt natural at some point. Then that one day when I thought I couldn't cheat death anymore… That was when Jason showed up and saved me. He took me to Camp Half-Blood where I met Thalia and everyone else."

She paused there, a regretful tone that carried with it the pain she tried to hide, those eyes were lost in the vastness of the lake's reflection. It was the first time Percy ever saw Piper act like this.

"At first, I wasn't sure if I should be glad I was saved. It would only bring more suffering and pain, and if I was going to be saved, then that just meant I couldn't forgive myself for being saved. There were countless out there who had waited for someone, anyone, only to meet a miserable end. What right did I have to be saved and survive when they didn't?"

The weight on his chest tightened. It was a question Percy didn't know if he could answer.

"I felt miserable. I tried many times to run away from my pathetic misery. I did many reckless things and wanted to wash my hands clean from the guilt drowning me."

Piper smiled bitterly.

"But I couldn't, because every time I tried, Jason round-up saving me again and again… "

The chilly evening air grew tense.

"You see, Percy… I am a coward. I always run away from difficult things as soon as I get overwhelmed. I am not as strong as many would like to think I am. The only reason I am where I am today is…"

Her word trailed off, and soon Piper tilted her gaze up and stared blankly into space, "At one point, I tried to kill myself and commit suicide. It was all I could think about, then you know what Jason told me when he found me with a knife pointed at my heart?"

Percy couldn't speak.

Piper's half-suppressed lips were as far away from a happy and content smile. They were filled with regret, sorrow, and so much guilt.

For the first time, Percy was at a loss for words.

"He told me: "If you are going to kill yourself, then let me join you too."" Piper closed her eyes and chuckled into the chilling night air, "You are totally surprised by that, aren't you?"

His jaw had dropped since then, "W-Well, yeah. Of course I am! That's—"

"Mmm, I reacted about the same too." Piper turned to grin at his state of shock, then as if to acknowledge his surprise and many unanswered questions, she moved her conflicted gaze away, that bitter smile not befitting her returned and stayed there, "But you know what, I finally figure it out at that moment, the thing he had been trying to tell me all along."

Piper pressed a hand to her chest where her heart resided, "If he couldn't save the one thing that's important to him, then he might as well put his misery to an end as well."

Percy sucked in a huge breath as he stared at his friend, her cheerful and carefree attitude could infect people with renewed serenity and peace, yet to see her suffering like this, he didn't know—

"I realized then that while I was trying so hard to wash away my guilt, I've caused the people that rescued me immeasurable pain as well. Jason was my inescapable collateral damage, and because of me, Jason felt hopeless that the first person he saved couldn't bear to live, and he was ready to double suicide with me."

Piper sucked in her cheeks and bit hard as if trying to bear the enormous guilt weighing her down, a weight that took her an immeasurable time before her shoulders could handle it. Percy didn't know how he could make her feel better, or if he even have that right.

"That's how he saved me for the last time, and the point when I saw how stupid I was." Piper's soft voice echoed and seemingly caught slight ripples on the shore, "Together, we made a promise to save as many Half-Bloods as we can, but for me, I wanted to save others because he gave me hope, and like him, I wanted to give other people hope too."

"Then you are not a coward, Pipes…" Percy whispered, "You faced your past and gotten stronger, so don't…"

"But I am…" Piper cut him off again, "Remember what I said about me and Jason?"

"But you two are…"

"On good terms? Not acting like enemies?" Piper sighed and laid back until she was on her back. She closed her eyes and smiled through those pink lips, "Well, that's only because of Jason. If not, we couldn't have stayed like this."

She sucked in a new breath, "I guess fighting and surviving with someone as long as I did with him, there is bound to be some new feelings that would creep up. I definitely did, and after a while, I knew he felt something too."

"So why?"

She opened her eyes without meeting him, "We never got the chance. It's as simple as that, or maybe we were both just running away from those feelings bubbling in our chests. At least, Jason never took his chance to say anything, so I kept quiet too."

With both hands, she lifted them high above her head and stretch all her fingers out, then she folded each one individually as if counting down to something inevitable.

"But the funny thing is, those feelings can't be suppressed, and at some point, I can't take it anymore and want to stay as far away from him as possible. I was confused. I didn't know if I should keep our friendship as it had always been, or risk a new type of relationship with him… but the fact of the matter is that I still have to face those never-ending emotions popping up every time we are together."

Down to her last two fingers, Piper close them slowly, "I guess it had gotten so bad that I almost wanted us to have a huge argument again and poison whatever was left between us."

Then it was down to her last pinky finger.

"But being the dork he is, he finally told me how he felt at the last minute, yet the distance we felt after not saying what's on our mind… Well, it's impossible to turn back time, so that's why he suggested we stay friends despite our feelings drowning us. I was skeptical. But as difficult as it was at first, he managed to smooth things out between us, getting us to where we are today."

Percy tried to say something, but nothing came.

"Heh…" A deprecating laugh left her small pink lips smiling, "I am supposed to be the daughter of Aphrodite, but the one relationship I couldn't save was my own, how ironic."

"Piper, I…"

"You don't have to say anything, Percy." She reassured him and those dimple rosy cheeks puffed out along with a forced grin, "You are always so kind and caring toward people, but it was my stupid mistake letting him slip through my fingers. That's why I want you and Annabeth to have… At the very least, I want you two to treasure each other the way I wasn't able to with Jason."

Percy watched as Piper sat back up and leaned on her hands, "I will always treasure Annabeth. You don't have to worry about that."

"Is that right?" Her friendly smile was filled with so much self-deprecation, it hurt Percy to see her react this way. Doing her best to hide her face from him, Percy couldn't let it end like this, "I am glad, Percy. I know you'll always make Annabeth happy, so..."

She got up on her own and dusted her long skirt, "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it…"

Tud!

Piper stopped dead in her track, her right wrist now being held by Percy's outstretched hand as he pulled her to a stop.

"Don't give up, Piper."

She blinked and turned dramatically back. Her light brown eyes were stunned.

"It might not have turned out the way either of you wanted, but those feelings are still there, aren't they? It's too early to give up on them. I am sure your feelings for Jason will be rewarded if you just keep fighting, and so will his. When that happens, I'll be cheering for both of you."

If he was trying to cheer her up for just a moment, Percy's honest gaze into her eyes seemed to have done more damage than he was intending. Fresh tears filled her eyes like a seasonal flood, and with her free hands, she hurriedly wiped them away with a new smile, one not burdened by her guilt or her traumatic past, one with renewed hope if only for just a little bit.

"You are such a dork too, Percy." Laughing lightly to herself, she whispered softly, "If you keep this up, I am going to unconsciously fall in love with you too."

Percy quickly let go, "Ahem, sorry! I just want to say what I want to say, and it's not like I have any…"

"I know," She tilted her head and grinned, "You are always like this, and that's why you are so…"

She slowly came to a pause, then seemingly without conscious effort, Piper brought her right wrist to her chest and brushed them with her other hand.

Percy could only curse at himself in hindsight.

"Anyway, I guess that's not the only reason I came here." Piper recomposed herself and made a bossy face at him, "Your princess wants to see you in the cabin tonight, and now that I've delivered the message…"

Percy thought that was it, but he couldn't have imagined what happened next.

A pair of soft, warm lips pressed on his right cheek when he was least expecting it. Thrown out of his seat in alarm, Percy partially fell over as he stared at the girl with hazel-color long straight hair grinning atop.

"That was my thanks for cheering me up, Percy." She was teasing him, "Oh? And if you tell anyone what I just did, I'll kill you."

Grinning from ear to ear, her death threat was as beautiful as a red rose covered with many sharp thorns, "Well, good night!"

-Line Break-

Annabeth

We weren't ready.

I know we weren't ready, and yet…

How could they even suggest we'd set out tomorrow? How am I supposed to keep them safe if... if they might die without mastering the reducibility of the program? It was supposed to help, but all it did was create more trouble.

No! I have to make sure the others are perfectly comfortable using it. Otherwise, I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to anyone following my crazy plan.

"Annabeth…"

Lifting my head from the small computer chip underneath a huge magnifying glass, I looked toward the door and saw Percy coming in. My heart eased, if for just a moment.

"I've been calling you. You didn't hear me?"

I shook my head, my hands still firmly holding onto the tiny gear and adjusting all the pre-cognitive parameters that could still be tweaked.

It couldn't fail, that's why…

"I am sorry, Percy." I hung my head. After not seeing each other for three whole days, I admit I missed my seaweed brain terribly, and yet, I didn't let go of the gear, "I've got a lot of things…"

"Hmm…" Percy glanced around the cabin I've been stuck in since this afternoon, "I can tell."

Was I being unreasonable? But even so, I couldn't let the others down. I have to do my best to…

"You've been working very hard, wise girl…" Percy came closer to me sitting near a table dimly lit by a single yellow lamp, "I think you should relax, just a little bit."

I shook my head as he cradled me in his arms, "If I fix this one thing, then maybe…"

Percy leaned down from behind me and pressed his face to my cheek, "You need a break, wise girl. And I know this might be wrong of me to say, but we can wait one more day, can't we?"

I pressed myself to his warmth subconsciously and sighed.

"I know you are worried about your mother. I am worried about Lady Athena too, but I am also more worried about you. I don't want us to go into battle when you are that stressed and not having enough rest. You haven't been yourself lately."

Leave it to my seaweed brain to see through my tiredness. I realized it at some point too, which was why he left me grumbling with a smile, "When did you get so smart?"

He pouted, "That just sounds like you are making fun of me."

Finally, I let go of the hollow ring with an ova earl shape and left it on the desk, placing it along with all the parts, pieces of screws, and bots scattered around the workstation.

"But you are right, Percy." I swallowed hard, "We are not ready to take on the battle at this stage. I am worried about her, but I don't want people hurt because of me either."

Percy slowly lifted my chin up to face him, "It's not your fault, Annabeth. And if there is blame, I will always share them with you. You are my partner after all."

I smiled, then lifted myself up to kiss him.

"I'll tell everyone the news tomorrow. Right now, I just want to spend the night with you." Standing up, I gestured toward the couch on the far side of the cabin, "C…Can we cuddle?"

Percy grinned back and made me blush, "Don't mind if I do."